StoneHouse Market Farm

| STONEHOUSE MARKET FARM (formerly known as Think Little CSA) rests on less than ten acres in Scottsville, south-central KY. The farm is small… and we intend to stay small. Our aim is to sustainably grow a diversity of veg and protein, but as little as possible to still provide a good livelihood for our family, keep it as close to home as possible, and leave room for other aspiring farmers to do the same. On our farm, we explore innovative small-scale methods (see Proud of…) to improve our profitability, the soil on our farm, and our quality of life. Follow us as we learn, grow, and live our farmlife.

| the farmers & our story

We—Jackson and Jordan Rolett—are first-generation, beginning farmers. Our farm story began by veraciously reading the work of Wendell Berry, volunteering for Community Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, and spending our free time at Need More Acres Farm. Over the next several years, we dedicated more and more time to the farm and the farmers market—where we learned how to grow veg and local farm economies respectively—assuming several roles within organizations moving local food access forward in our own town as well as across the state, began a CSA of our own, had two children, and moved our farm three times. In 2018, we were finally bought a farm, with a Stonehouse, and put down some real roots.

| proud of how we grow

We grow thirty+ vegetables, year-round, on just one acre—43,560 square feet—using bio-intensive no-till methods. Simply, we grow as much as we are able in the smallest area without tilling the soil. Here are some basic principles we follow:

It has to be profitable. If it’s not profitable, it’s not farming.

Disturb the soil as little as possible.

Keep the soil covered as much as possible.

Keep the soil planted as often as possible.

Along with generous amounts of compost, we can dramatically improve our soil and do most of the work with human-scale tools (no tractor? no problem). To learn more about how—and why—we do what we do, check out our side-project No-Till Growers.

| OUR CSA & COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKET

“Eating is an agricultural act.” -Wendell Berry. We believe real change in agriculture begins in the kitchen. What we choose to eat will have a great, if not greatest, impact on not only what is produced, but also how it is grown. Our CSA—a weekly box of about 5 to 7 approachable fruits & vegetables—is designed to get more people cooking meals at home, where the greatest impact costs the least. We hope, as well, it builds cooking confidence and brings more families and friends together around the dining table.

| A Brief Note About Shared Risk & Reward

“There is a kind of idealism that seems to be native to farming. Farmers begin every year with a vision of perfection. And every year, in the course of the seasons and the work, this vision is relentlessly whittled down to a real result–by human frailty and fallibility, by the mortality of creatures, by pests and diseases, by the weather. The crop year is a long struggle, ended invariably not by the desired perfection but by the need to accept something less than perfection as the best that could be done.” -Wendell Berry

There is no better, more sober, description of farming, especially so for the CSA farmer. Growing veg takes a lot of time, labor, and capital, even before harvesting the first leaf of the season. We ask for a portion of the cost of the share in advance so we may properly invest in our farm and—more importantly—ourselves as we begin to prepare in January for the first CSA box in May. It is entirely possible there will be crop failures and we will do our best to respond/recover in time. Keep in mind, we also have a little one on the way mid-July, and may need to forfeit a week to make sure our family is well cared for. You take a risk when joining a CSA that is inherent to the realities of food production. That said, you’ll also be rewarded during times of bounty. If you have questions/concerns, please send us a message.